Educational toy



Dec. 13, 1949 MNNEM RE 2,491,404

EDUCATIONAL TOY Filed June 7, 1946 INVENTOR Jallz'm fiarms 211711101101? BY WAflM I ATTORNEY Patented Dec. 13, 1949 EPATZENEI QGTFECE EDUCATIONAL TOY JullienFrancisWinnem'ore,ElmhurstfiNfY.

Application June 7, 1946,i:Serial:No.675,163

(Cl.'35l'29) 2 Claims.

. This invention relates to "toys. Among the objects of thelinventioni-isito provide is. hammer andpeg-and-board set wherein the board is holed .ior-engaging and offeringlresistance to the free ;.passage of a peg through aholeiin the board-from .the impact of blows from thehammer, and .the .peg is.'so.constructedthat it-may'be Withdrawn from the hole by'the use ofthe claw of'the'hammer after the peg has been driven. The holed board is supported above a base at such distance as to limit the length of travel of a peg through the board and locate the head of the peg in proper position for engagement by the claw of the hammer. The peg is constructed to snugly engage one or another of holes in a board and to provide increasing resistance to its progress into a hole while permitting the peg to be advanced until it strikes the base. The toy is intended for the enjoyment of a child and for offering to the child instruction in physical and mental coordination. An object of the invention is to provide such a toy, and one which is economical to manufacture, and can be made entirely of wood.

In the drawings, Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a hammer and peg and board set embodying my invention;

Fig. 2 is a section on line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is an elevational view of a modified form of peg;

Fig. 4 illustrates the peg shown in viewed from its lower end.

The peg and board set includes a holed board Ill having holes extending through the board. The holed board may be supported in any suitable manner above a base board II. The upper surface of the base board and the lower surface of the holed board are preferably parallel, particularly when the pegs have the same longitudinal dimensions. As shown in the drawings, the toy set includes a pair of supports l2 and I3, which are attached to the ends of the base board. These supports hold the holed board It! in the desired spaced relationship with respect to the base board II. The holed board is held upon the supports by a pair of pins I4 and I5, which register with vertical grooves l6 and II, respectively, in opposite edges of the holed board. If desired, the base board and the supports and the holed board may be assembled in such a manner as to enable their ready separation into four different parts, although it will be understood that they may be permanently assembled in a unit.

In the drawings I have illustrated round pegs l8 and IQ of two different diameters and corresponding holes 20 and 2| in the holed board.

Fig. 3 as it will .be understood.- howevemthati. the :hoies :in the .holed board may be .arrangedin-.any desired -manner .and :that all 1 of the ;:holes .-in the board pf set :may have :liketdimensions ;.for -receiving a single peg. Each peg has mermal across-asco- .tionaldimensions slightly reater:.than-;that .of a :holeinto which it is .to fbezdritemsoxtlrat itizcan- -not f be inserted in: a ;hole .without idistortionzand its upper portion will not engage in the hole.

The pegs are preferably made from wooden sticks or dowels and are preferably out to the same length. Each peg has a solid upper portion 22 and is slotted from its lower end to a sufficient height to form the shank or lower portion 23 into separate elements which can be contracted to engage within a hole. Preferably, the lower end of the peg is slotted at right angles, as well shown in Figs. 3 and 4, so as to provide four shank sectors which are bendable inwardly towards the axis of the peg as the peg is advanced through a hole. The lower end of the peg is chamfered to facilitate its registry with the hole. In response to relatively lightpressure, or to a tap from the hammer 24, the separated sectors will readily bend and permit the peg to enter the hole.

As the peg is advanced through a hole, it encounters increasing resistance and sharper hammer blows are required to advance the peg for its permissible length of travel. When the advance of the peg through the hole is arrested by board II or other base, as illustrated in Fig. 2, the pegdriving operation is completed.

The fit of the peg in the hole at this stage may be quite firm and the child will discover that it is not easy to remove the peg without employing the claw 25 of the hammer. The hammer is preferably formed with a rocker surface 26 to facilitate its manipulation in extracting the peg. The upper portion of each peg is provided with a laterally-extending head-element for enabling engagement of the peg and its withdrawal from the hole. In the form of peg illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2, the laterally-extending head-element is in the form of a pin 21 which extends diametrically through the upper portion of the pin. The head-element is so located on the peg that its under part is suitably positioned above the upper surface of the holed board In when the peg has reached its limit of travel as to enable cooperation of the claw of the hammer and holed board during an extracting operation. For extracting a peg the child will learn to properly employ the claw hammer to engage the pin in the manner illustrated blows from the hammer, means supporting said holed board at a fixed distance above a base, a peg slotted at one end for engaging a hole in the holed board and unslotted at its other end whereby the peg is offered increasing resistance to its advance through the hole but permitting the peg to be advanced therethrough until it strikes said base, said peg having a lateral extension located in its upper portion at such distance above the holed board when the peg has advanced its full distance of travel through the holed board as to allow engagement of the lateral extension by a claw of the hammer.

2. A toy comprising a base and a board supported a fixed distance above the upper surface of said base, a plurality of pegs adapted to frictionally engage holes in said board, each of said pegs having such length as to extend above the upper surface of said board when engaged in a hole in said board and the lower end of the peg is in contact with said base, each peg being normally of greater diameter than the hole in which it is engaged and slotted from its lower end to permit contracting of its lower end when engaged in a hole in said board, means for driving a peg into a hole against the frictional restraint offered by seizure of the peg in the hole, and means laterally extending from the upper end of each peg for enabling withdrawal of the peg from the board when the peg has been driven into contact with said base.

JULLIEN FRANCIS WINNEMORE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,291,495 Harburger Jan. 14, 1919 1,555,993 Larson Oct. 6, 1925 1,848,598 Barnes Mar. 8, 1932 2,197,976 Fletcher Apr. 23, 1940 

